Brandon Thurston at Wrestlenomics published a new report detailing WWE employee morale declining due to "reduced benefits, limited pay increases, and heavier workloads as the company integrates with UFC."
Thurston spoke with multiple current WWE employees under the condition of anonymity.
WWE has reportedly removed its “WWE Superstar” program—a peer-recognition initiative that allowed employees to reward each other with points redeemable for cash bonuses, gift cards, or experiences and complimentary live event tickets for employees, a long-standing perk. WWE previously ended its stock purchase program when the merger with UFC to form TKO went through.
Fightful Select reported in November that WWE talent "expressed frustration that comps are no longer available in many cases, and instead talent are getting a pre-sale link that their friends and family can utilize and get tickets before general on-sale. We aren’t sure if this applies to talent across the board, but a number of talent have indicated that it affects them."
Wrestlenomics reports "WWE’s financial success hasn’t translated into meaningful pay increases" and that multiple staff members said "they received a 3% cost-of-living raise this year, which they argue hardly keeps pace with the rising living costs in Connecticut and New York, in the region around WWE’s headquarters."
The article states, "Employee morale at WWE has been declining for some time now, employees informed us."
Reported concerns raised to lower- and middle-level managers have reportedly been attributed to decisions made at the executive level.
TKO is set to report its fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings on Wednesday.
